Since too many other people are posting about this, I'll just link to my various comments (the 2nd of these will launch you straight into spoilerland; caveat lector).

Though now, I'm starting to wonder how this is going to affect the future of this whole genre, i.e., the movie genre --- clearly the book genre is going to go on as before, perhaps with a bit of a boost from people who used to dismiss it but decide from seeing the PJ movies that maybe Tolkien and various other folks are worth a try after all.

Figure either

the movie genre will completely die out because nobody will dare anything remotely similar for fear of suffering the comparison with PJ

this is going to do to big-budget fantasy what Star Wars did to big-budget space opera.In other words, brace yourselves for a whole legion of imitations of varying degrees of quality.

So given that ... what's coming next?
Or what, in your ideal world, should be coming next?

E.g., in my ideal world, someone competent would be attempting big-screen versions of either Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry or Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series, but I'm guessing those particular ones will be a while since the authors in question are still among the living.

given as the protagonist is a pain in the ass with no social skills nor anything resembling a pleasant demeanor

I'll readily admit the adaptation will be huge challenge for the screenwriter, but that only means it'll be quite a coup if it's done right.

(Also, he's a rapist.)

This reaction has always baffled me. I mean it's not like we don't do stories about murderers redeeming themselves. Never mind the small matter that he's sure it's all just a dream anyway (and part of the point of that scene is as a measure of this).

Of your two alternatives, I fear the first and hope for the second (although the comment about the quality of wanna-bes already makes me flinch).

Fionavar would be phenomenal. (Now why did that make the movie Legend come to mind...?) Wasn't there something about a Pern movie? How about something from Pat McKillip. Though I'm not sure if her way with words will translate well into visual imagery...

I'm kinda late to the party on this, but I hear on and off that Good Omens is in the works, and if that works out I could possibly see some other of Pratchets books becomeing comic fantasy movies, I know not quite in the genre that you are talking about, but it is a step in the direction that might allow them to do it without fear of imitating PJ too much.

The other direction I would love to see this go is if Gaimans American Gods is made into a movie after Good Omens. That could eventually lead to the possibility of Sandman movies, and that would surly kick much ass.